Commute on Hank Aaron State Trail opens Tales from the Road

As part of Bike to Work Week in Milwaukee, Off the Couch will feature your Tales from the Road: the stories and sights you find on your ride to the job, grocery store or play-date. We'll need your contributions - so send them to theld@journalsentinel.com, along with a bit of background about yourself.

Keep in mind that they should read like a trip to the office, not a ride across the country.

To get us off the start line, we have this piece from Mark Edmund, a magazine editor who commutes from the western edge of Wauwatosa to his office on N. Plankinton Ave.

For my Tuesday morning commute from the western edge of Milwaukee County to downtown Milwaukee, I avoided all but a few traffic lights.

I bypassed the clogs on I-94 and other congested arteries during the 7 o'clock hour.

No multi-ton steel beasts crossed my path. There were zero potholes to dodge.

Instead, my quiet 35-minute commute included stretches underneath those busy highways, over the congested thoroughfares, through open green spaces and lightly wooded hide outs, behind cozy neighborhoods and bustling businesses; eventually over and along the Menomonee River to downtown streets.

It felt like I had cheated the system. And I fully intend to be a repeat offender.

Marathon training and a busy five-year-old daughter were easy excuses not to.

Tuesday morning, I finally clipped my cleats in the pedals, in part because my car was being treated at the shop.

I wish I hadn't waited so long. It was easily the highlight of my day.

I started the journey near N. 121st St., just a few blocks south of Blue Mound Road.

Right now, this part of the trail is simply rocks and gravel. The terrain isn't anything that a sturdy mountain bike with fat tires can't handle. Actually, at times this part feels like riding on fire lanes in the woods up north, maybe something from a CAMBA trail (OK, maybe I'm romanticizing a bit, aching for a vacation up north).

The unpaved part of the trail is wide enough for two to bicycle abreast, and it's pretty flat and forgiving.

There are plenty of shrubs and trees to pass by when you're not sneaking behind and in-between light industrial businesses or underneath traffic on I-94 and Highways 45 and 100.

At N. 94th Place, gravel and rock meet neatly black-topped pavement, staying the same width across but sandwiched by white-gravel shoulders; plenty of room to navigate around slower bicyclists or others sharing the trail.

There are some useful access points to the Hank Aaron along the way: N. 76th and 68th Streets at W. Dickinson St., and just west of N. Hawley Road.

Smooth and easy overpasses at N. 92nd and N. 84th Streets, Hawley and Highway 41 just east of Miller Park keep you moving at a decent clip while avoiding the traffic below.

More highlights of my newfound commuting route were zipping through neighborhoods along the trail and seeing parts of Milwaukee and West Allis from a new perspective.

Sometimes it's sobering to pass a few abandoned industrial plants, but it's also encouraging to see many businesses bustling along the path.

The section through the Clement J. Zablocki VA Medical Center grounds-just southwest of the stadium-offers a glimpse of historic buildings and beautiful architecture hidden in that area.

Eventually, the extension connects with the original trail footprint that I've ridden and run on countless times, crossing the Menomonee River on the sleek Silver City Connection pedestrian bridge installed last year just west the N. 35th Street overpass.

Hugging the north side of Canal Street while approaching Marquette University's Valley Fields and Potawatomi Bingo Casino, a few more bicyclists began dotting the trail, even on that cool, damp and windy day.

Here's to seeing even more bicyclists dot the entire trail during the (warmer?) months ahead. And here's to beating the system. Who's in with me next time?

What a great description of the trail! I feel like I'm right there with ya. I took the trail extension to 94th street for the first time yesterday--it's a great way to get around (biking into a strong wind is not fun, however).

Convinced of the Hex - from Bay View, the route would be north on either 1st St. or 2nd, depending on your preference, then west on Virginia, north through the round-about to 6th St., then west to the trail at the Harley Museum. If you go into the Harley Parking lot, continue to the river and follow the path on the water's edge. That eliminates the left turn on 6th St.